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In a historic night for Philippines football, the World Cup debutants stunned co-hosts New Zealand in Wellington with a 1-0 win. Bolden’s early goal combined with some stoic and stubborn defending proved enough. The Football Ferns looked out of ideas on how to create clear chances and were left heartbroken after the final whistle.
- New Zealand made an aggressive start but Wilkinson misfired on 3 occasions.
- After surviving the early storm the Philippines took the lead when Bolden stunned the Ferns.
- New Zealand huffed and puffed all second half but never found an equaliser.
New Zealand women Player Ratings: Toothless display throughout
Contents
GK Victoria Esson 5/10 – Never had much to do, just 1 save. At fault for the goal that decided the match. Should have done better.
DF C.J. Bott 7/10 – Played well. Her forays forward carried danger. She created the 3 best chances for New Zealand with her crosses.
DF Rebekah Stott 6/10 – Unconvincing when it mattered most. Struggled to deal with the pace of the Philippines’ strikers in the first half.
DF Katie Bowen 6/10 – Defended well but had little to do at the back. Unconvincing finishing with headers from set pieces on numerous occasions.
DF Ali Rilley 7/10 – Active and delivered 7 crosses into the box.
MF Indiah-Page Riley 5/10 – Never found a way to break down the defence. Kept misplacing her passes too. Very poor first touch on several occasions.
MF Ria Percival 7/10 – Distributed the ball well and delivered several dangerous spot-kicks into the box. Kept misfiring though, all of her 3 shot attempts flew wide.
MF Malia Steinmetz 6/10 – Had little to do defensively. Should have been more aggressive with her passing. Solid overall but without much impact.
MF Bettsy Hassett 5/10 – Unconvincing with her timid shot attempts. Also, in the 45 minutes she played the majority of her crosses flew wayward.
FW Jacqui Hand 7/10 – She was the most active striker. Kept asking serious questions and wasn’t afraid to battle 2-3 defenders at times. Unlucky not to score, had 3 big chances but twice fingertip saves denied her.
FW Hannah Wilkinson 6/10 – The hero from the first game was poor in this match. Guarded well she never had much hope of scoring. Worked hard but should have found a way to do more in attack.
Substitutes
MF Olivia Chance 6/10 – Brought at halftime to improve the threat on the flanks. Tried but struggled to find spaces. Her crosses were easy for defending too.
MF Annalie Longo 6/10 – Also, brought at halftime to strengthen the attack. Also, failed to have much of an impact.
Philippines Player Ratings: Never stopped working for each other
GK Olivia McDaniel 8/10 – Kept a clean sheet. Made 4 vital saves and intercepted countless crosses. Rock-solid from start to finish.
DF Alicia Barker 7/10 – Protected the right flank well. Got a bit tired late on and this was when some trouble came through her area.
DF Hali Long 8/10 – The captain was a true leader from the heart of the defence. She sniffed numerous dangers. Also, personally made sure Wilkinson was quiet.
DF Angela Beard 7/10 – Another great defensive display. Her discipline nearly got her in trouble though. Booked and was lucky to avoid a second booking late on.
DF Jessica Cowart 7/10 – Had the most defensive interceptions – 7. Also, blocked 4 shot attempts.
DF Sofia Harrison 7/10 – Great display from the left-back made sure New Zealand created precious little from that zone. She also joined the attacks a few times with purpose.
MF Jaclyn Sawicki 6/10 – Defensively she was solid and helped a lot. Her passing was very disappointing though.
MF Sara Eggesvik 8/10 – Very influential when on the ball. Produced the assist for the winning goal too. Got tired in the second half.
MF Quinley Quezada 7/10 – Hard-working and always there for her teammates when they were trapping and double-teaming opponents. Made a few nice forward passes too so had an impact at both ends.
FW Katrina Guillou 7/10 – Made some good runs in channels. Also, created spaces very well for her partner Bolden. Overall, very solid and unselfish display.
FW Sarina Bolden 8/10 – Scored the goal that won the match. She also registered the only other shot on target. Always a threat when on the ball.
Substitutes
MF Tahnai Annis 6/10 – Freshened up the midfield late on when the Philippines needed it.
FW Isabella Flanigan 5/10 – Failed to have much of an impact despite being on the pitch for 27 minutes. Had only 5 touches to the ball in that time.
DF Dominique Randle 6/10 – Helped with good energy during the final 20 minutes when New Zealand were pushing hard.
Player of the Match: Sarina Bolden
Sarine Bolden wrote her name with golden letters in the Philippines’ football history. She scored the first-ever World Cup goal for her country, both men and women, and not just that but this goal also brought the first-ever World Cup win for her country. It was an inspiring display.
After the final whistle, it was party time for the Filipians!
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